When He Howls
by Jaz Higgs
Summary: Remus enters his 6th year, and everything changes. Voldermourt is on the rise, and what happens when Remus befriends Snape? Will Sirius get jealous?
1. Chapter 1

Remus flinched as the stick was brought down again.

"Nasty piece of-"

Whack.

"Don't ever think of walking down here again!"

Another punch from the stick, painful and bruising to his thin body. How long was this going to last?

"You're just a useless Werewo-"

Whack.

With a final kick, the boys' footsteps gradually faded, and Remus opened his eyes.

He was crouched up against the lane's brick wall; the stones form the path digging into his skin through his shabby clothes and the trees hung over his head, shading him from the sun. His head ached as though it was being pushed off his head, and his nose felt fuzzy and hot, gradually dripping more and more blood.

He gingerly pushed himself into a sitting position and glanced around, trying to swallow the taste of blood. Remus wiped his mouth, rubbed his eyes, and flecked his hands. The pain tingled still, and the red blotches were starting to colour. He sighed, his chest hurting as he breathed, and grabbing the mossy wall, heaved himself up onto his feet.

The country lane wasn't far from his home, and Remus was suddenly glad that he hadn't taken the long walk near the river. He rolled his shoulders several times before glancing down at his body. His shoes were covered in blood from his dripping nose: his brown robes had soaked up the blood from his face…at least his jeans and shirt weren't stained…

With the pain starting to ease, Remus began to walk down the road, trying not to limp as he felt the cool breeze. Just a few more minutes and he'd be home.

"Remus dear, is that you?" called his mother, her voice sweet and caring as always.

Remus limped into the kitchen, slamming the front door angrily. It had only taken a few minutes for his anger to boil, but by the time he'd got home, it was serving from him like hot lava.

"I hate them!" he snarled, pulling the chair across the floor to sit on it, putting his head into his pale hands. "I hate them so much!"

"What's wrong Remus-You're bleeding?"

"Yes, mum."

"Oh, Remus honey…" she began, and hurried around the kitchen fetching a bowl of water and some bandages. She placed them on the table and rung out a sponge. Gently, she lifted Remus' head from his hands and studied it, looking into his eyes.

"What happened this time?" she asked, as she soaked the sponge into water.

"Just some boys."

"What did they do to you?"

"Beat me."

"With what?"

"A stick." Remus growled, shuddering at the memory which reoccurred in his mind.

"A stick?" exclaimed Mrs Lupin, her face turning stormy. "Your father will hear of this! This is ridiculous! How did they find out?"

"Katy probably told them." Remus mumbled, thinking of his only friend in the village. "We don't get along anymore." Well, ex-friend.

"Urgh!" Mrs Lupin sighed, wiping the blood from her sons face carefully. "At least you're back at Hogwarts tomorrow." She inspected Remus' face. "All clean." she smiled, her son giving her a crooked, painful grin. "Have you packed?"

"It's nearly all done." Remus mumbled, pushing his hair from his eyes.

"Go finish it, dear." Mrs Lupin told him, "Whilst I talk to your father…"

With that, Remus got up and hauled himself up the spiral stairs to his bedroom.

"Lily!"

The shout came from behind her, and the red headed girl spun around on her heels to face another girl. She was short, with long, dark brown hair, olive skin, and huge, chocolate brown eyes rimmed with mascara. She wore a bright green dress, with floral patterns on it, and wide, green shoes that made a loud sound whenever she walked.

"Giz!" Lily cried, seeing her friend. She ran to her and hugged her, feeling a serve of happiness. She hadn't seen Giz for six weeks, since she had gone back to her home country, Italy, to see her Grandparents. Giz spoke English without an accent, and her Italian was fluent and authentic sounding. Lily envied her linguistic ability, and admired her tan.

"How was Italy?" she asked, holding the girl at arm's length and assessing her jokingly. Giz blushed and pulled at a strand of her long hair.

"It was eventful…" she mumbled, with a wink.

"TELL ME!" Lily wined, her voice going higher with excitement. "You must tell me!"

"Well, I have…a boyfriend!" Giz exclaimed, engulfing Lily in a huge hug. Even though Giz was only five foot two, she was strong and noticeable- mainly because of her good looks and loud voice. She squealed with delight and glanced around the platform, looking for other friends she could share her news with. She grabbed her large trunk marked 'G.' and beckoned Lily to follow her. Lily quickly rushed to say good bye to her parents, who were drinking in the scene of wizardry, which was far from unnoticeable at the station of nine and three quarters. Hugging them and giving them a quick kiss, she waved and ran off to catch up with Giz.

"Your sisters not here then?" Giz asked, showering the crowds of people with a critical look.

"No." Lily sighed, flicking her long red hair from her freckled face. "She didn't want to say good-by to me this year. Still thinks I'm a freak, as always…"

"I think she needs to get over it!" huffed Giz, moving faster through the dense crowds of people. Suddenly, she stopped in her tracks and waved in the distance. "It's Kit."

Kit moved towards them, with a small but cute smile plastered to her pale face. Her long, ginger hair fell just to her waist, and had a slight wave to it, clashing with her red jacket. Her flared jeans (this is the seventies, remember?) were dark blue and had a splatter of mud up the side from where she lived on a farm. She embraced both of the girls with a huge hug. She dwarfed Giz easily, and she was a few inches taller than Lily, who was five foot six. She smiled.

"I've missed you!" she said, as her parents came wandering over to them. Mrs Llewellyn-Jones was a small, pretty lady with blonde hair down to her waist and a motherly air around her, whilst Kit's father was a tall, slightly imposing man with carrot coloured hair (though his daughters was more of a dark red) and huge blue eyes. Kit tenderly kissed both of them before leaving them to walk with her friends. "Who are we looking for?" she asked.

"Anyone." Lily explained simply, mirroring Kit's confused expression. Suddenly, Giz squealed and turned around.

"Kit….I HAVE A BOYFRIEND!"

Several of the other families turned around to glare at the sixth year student, who was now bouncing up and down.

"Congratulations Gizzy!" Kit blurred, dodging another one of Giz's hugs. Kit wasn't the one to be hugged a lot, and Lily knew that. Giz, on the other hand, never remembered. As though it had never occurred, Giz ran ahead to find others, wheeling her luggage behind her.

"We'll be on the train!" called Lily, as loud as she could. Giz gave a thumb up before turning the corner.

"Sirius!"

James made his way into the compartment, his eyes wide and his face delighted. He hadn't seen his friend since he bid him and his family fare well during the last few weeks of summer: Sirius went to go live with his Uncle for a little while, giving the time the Potters needed, to go on holiday.

"Prongs!" Sirius yelled, and launched himself at his best friend, whose face was clear of boy-hood spots. James' hair still stuck up at odd angles, and his glasses were askew as usual, giving him an 'i-don't-care' look that the girls loved. He was wearing a simple shirt and jeans, with converse and a jacket slung over his shoulder, with his school robes in a plastic bag, hanging from his hands.

"How are you?" James asked as they both sat down, looking out of the window was the trains started to move.

"I'm good mate! My Uncle was understanding, and has given me some money to put into a volt at Gringots so I can get a motorbike! You'll have to help me tweak it when he gets it for me. He's gonna send it to Hogwarts at Christmas."

"Awesome!" James huffed, running a hand through his hair to make it stick up more, and glanced at Sirius. He hadn't changed much.

His wavy dark hair was still just above shoulder length, and his eyes were grey and lively. He wore a pair of scruffy old blue jeans with a black t-shirt, a leather jacket thrown on top: this made up Sirius' usual 'bad-boy' attire mixed with an odd elegance the girls loved and swooned over. He was still taller than James, at six foot, as James had only just reached five foot ten over the summer.

Sirius frowned.

"Where's Moony and Wormtail?" he thought aloud, and James shrugged.

"Not sure, really." He replied. "Maybe we should find them. I'll look for Pete, he's easier." James winked, and got up, heading to the door.

"Awwww, but Moony's really hard to fiiind!" Sirius wined jokingly, and he got up to, leaving the compartment to search for their friends.

"Remus?"

The boy straightened up, blinking rapidly to get rid of the tears. He wiped them away carelessly and looked through his hair at his best friend. Sirius stood there, arms folded, smiling at him. The smile was small and gentle, but it was a smile anyway. He sat down next to Remus, and pulled his body closer to his into a hug, and ruffled his hair.

"So…?" Sirius began, releasing Remus. "What's wrong?"

Remus blinked.

"Well…I…I just…"

"Spit it out, mate."

"I don't know! I'm just upset over nothing, I guess. Like always."

"Hush, Moony!" Sirius said, frowning. "It can't just be nothing…"

"Fine!" Remus snapped, "I'm tired and I nearly mauled a man during the last full moon! My friend in my village now hates me! I got beaten up! My parents are getting more and more worried about me…and I can't help it!"

Sirius took a deep breath.

"All of that?" he asked, taken back. "I see why you're upset. Well, if the 'friend' really was a friend, you'd still BE friends, wouldn't you? So, that's nothing…and the man's alive, isn't he?"

Remus nodded.

"And if you can't help your parents, then don't worry about them!" Sirius said. "Simple! Just…calm down, mate, yeah? You're always so stressed."

"I know, I know…"

Sirius let out a long laugh, patting Remus on the shoulders.

Sirius looked at Remus. He hadn't changed much since their last meeting. His hair was shaggy and light brown, but it was greasy as the full moon was soon. His skin was pale but smooth, and his wide eyes were still the same shade of green they were last year. He wore a tattered shirt and jumper, with a clean pair of pressed jeans and his red converse were on the floor by the door. He had obviously had enough of wearing shoes and curled up without them.

"Let's go see if James has found Wormtail." Sirius mumbled, helping Remus up and flicking the shoes at his friend by magic. Remus caught them and put them on, hopping out of the door to do his laces as they walked down the carriage.


	2. Chapter 2

The hot fire whisky burned in his chest as he sat down, flicking his hair from his face. The common room was getting more and more crowded, and the sofa was getting more and more hard the longer he sat in it.

"Remus!"

He looked up.

It was Longbottom, a round faced, clever boy in the seventh year. He had guided Remus through numerous tasks around the school when he had been prefect, and had helped Remus when he took his role a few years later.

"Hi."

"How are you?" Longbottom asked, sitting down next to him, making the sofa crowded. Several of the fifth year girls, who were cooing over Sirius, tutted angrily, and glared at Remus and the seventh year.

"I'm…tired, you?"

"Yeah, I know how you feel."

Laughter erupted from Longbottom's friends in the corner. "I better go, Remus, let me know if you need anything."

"I will…" Remus mumbled as Longbottom walked away, crossing his arms and leaning further back into the sofa. He clutched the fire whisky bottle hard, making his knuckles whiten as he turned to Sirius, covered in girls.

Remus' handsome friend pushed the girls off, casually flirting with just one of them- the fifth year by the name of Josephine. Remus had to admit, the girl was pretty with her long, curly brown hair and huge, bambi brown eyes…yet she was almost insufferable to hold a conversation with! Remus edged closer to Sirius, who was wiping his mouth and blushing viciously.

"Girls, Sirius?" he asked lightly, with a small wink. Sirius sighed heavily and groaned.

"They won't leave me alone, mate!"

"Ha! But you only made them leave once you saw-"

"Saw what, Moony?"

Remus turned red, his tongue freezing and he just stared. He couldn't finish the rest of the sentence, that was sure, and he sipped from his bottle. He didn't know why seeing Sirius with so many girls made him so…angry. He shrugged of the thought, returning to glare at his best friend.

"Once you saw someone you like." Remus muttered. "It always happens."

"You're an amazing observer Moony, with a mind of a mad man if you were concentrating on that instead of the hot female arse in front of you."

Remus sighed as Sirius laughed lightly. He pated Remus on the back gently, and his friend winced and went pale.

"Furry problem?" Sirius guessed, thinking he had patted a new scar from the last transformation. Remus turned grey and shook his head.

"I…we'll talk of it later, okay?" he rolled his shoulders. "Now, let's go get some more Fire Whisky from Rosmerta…"

"Or better." began James, who had just heard the words 'fire whisky'. He was followed by Kit and another girl, who were gossiping with their heads together as they say down on the sofa. Someone would have to move soon, otherwise Remus was going to end up over the floor in an angry, squished mess. "We can just get that squirt in the third year to get it for us. His dad helps Rosmerta out with the pub." James took a deep breath. "LORTON! CLARENCE LORTON!"

A small, blonde boy came running to James, his head help high. Out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Lily roll her eyes in disgust and wander up to bed: it was obvious she watched everything that James did, waiting for something bad so she could correct it…or, in a weird twist of fate, Remus thought, she may watch James because she looks for a reason to praise him…Hell would have frozen over when that day came.

"Lorton, will you get us some Fire Whisky and give your dad three sickles?" James pushed the money into the boys hand and gave him a smile. The boy nodded eagerly and set off, giving the Marauders a thumbs up before leaving the common room.

"Wake up." Remus snapped at James, who was asleep on the sofa holding a bottle of Fire Whisky. He was pale and had deep bags under his eyes. Remus nudged him, but his friend didn't move. He turned to Peter, who was groggily waking up on the floor.

"Mornin'." he yawned, getting up. "I'm g-going to go get changed..." Peter got up, his fat wobbling, which made Remus gag, and the short, fat blond boy walked up the stairs to the boys dorm.

Remus turned to Sirius. He looked so angelic asleep, his mouth slightly agape, his eyes shut, his dark hair a mess. He was curled up in one of the armchairs by the fire, holding a flask of coffee. Remus knelt down and shook his best friend. Slowly, Sirius opened his eyes and looked at the young werewolf. He smiled warmly and sat up, stretching.

"Thanks Moony." he said, his voice dripping with tiredness. He rubbed his eyes, and got up. Sirius, without another word, he walked up to the dormitory to get changed for their first day as sixth years.

Her uniform was worn as short as possible, her grey pleated skirt half way up her thigh, and her blouse undone to the third button or more, and her tie completely absent. She strutted over to the Marauders and sat next to Sirius.

Bitch! Remus thought, and had to engage himself in conversation before he lost the plot. Sirius wasn't interested in you last year, he thought bitterly, so go swagger off and pluck your already too thin eyebrows!

Sirius sneered at her, turning the expression into a smile quickly before shooting a quick glance at James.

"Louisa," came a strong voice, "I suggest you get out of my seat and go torture some other poor, undeserving soul whilst you can, otherwise, I shall personally remove you myself."

It was Giz, small but mighty as she pushed the Hufflepuff Louisa off her seat and sat down herself, holding her wand and a small capsule of lip-gloss of a natural colour. Kit came trotting down after her, followed by Storm.

Storm frowned carefully, keeping her mouth sealed. Kit was actually being friendly to Giz, not just civil, as she always was. She thought of it as weird, and it made her uncomfortable…she didn't like Giz, and Giz didn't really like her, but Kit had always been her best friend. Kit wasn't ignoring Storm, but something wasn't quite right…

Storm sighed and grimaced at Remus, who sat over the other side of the long table.

"It's going to be a long day." She sighed. Remus let out a small laugh.

"You didn't need your Seer blood to tell me that." he grumbled with a small smile, and poured himself some juice. He hadn't seen Storm since last year. She was a quiet, odd girl, with pure white hair, pale skin, and blue-purple eyes that always seemed to stare, which unnerved people. She was a seer, meaning she could see into the future. Her power only flared up every once in a while, usually if the future involved some horrible disaster that other could not foresee.

"No, I didn't." she smirked slowly, adjusting her red and gold striped tie. "So, did you see anyone over the summer?" Her voice was quiet, gentle, and was easy for Remus to hear- being a werewolf had made him have good senses.

"No, not really." Remus muttered, rolling his shoulders calmly and looking over at James and Sirius. "I didn't see anyone except my cousin. My mum's been ill, so I have been looking after her…what about you?"

Storm cleared her throat.

"Nothing much, really. I saw Kit, went to London with Ophelia…"

"Talking of Phee, where is she?" asked Remus, his brow furrowed. He hadn't seen half of the girls in his year, not on the train or in the common room…

"They've been up in the dorm since they arrived." Storm muttered, grabbing a piece of toast form the rack in the middle of the long Gryffindor table. "Kit and Giz have been hanging out…Lily keeps talking to that Ravenclaw…Y'know, that girl Lisabet talks to as well…."

"What, Calandra Smutty?" Remus asked, confused.

"No!" snapped Storm, "Calandra's the Ravenclaw Seeker…Emma! Emma O'Hare, that's it!"

"Lily talks to Emma O'Hare?" Remus asked, his eyes wide. "She was my library buddy in our first year…"

"Yeah yeah, whatever….but Lily's hanging around with her and Calandra a lot. It's really odd…"

"Maybe she's making more friends outside her house?" suggested Remus, "I mean, it's good to have friends outside of Gryffindor. I'm friends with some Ravenclaws, a few Hufflepuffs, and a Slytherin."

"What?" Storm laughed lightly, the first time in ages Remus had seen her laugh. "Name them!"

"Well, I'm friends with Emma, Rylla Wattington, John Rotwell…they're in Ravenclaw! And Iona Grey, Cy Luttly…Martha Toneswell-Rhones…"

"Hufflepuffs?" Storm ventured. "I only know because Cy's the Keeper for Hufflepuff! He's soooo useless, y'know…I can beat him with my eyes closed."

"That's because you're a great Keeper, Storm, Cy's average, I'm sure." Muttered Remus slowly, still thinking. "Oh, and the Slytherin?"

"Yeaaah…?"

"Fay Jones."

"Oh, her." Storm said.

"Yes, her." Remus reported, frowning. "She's nice, you know."

"She hangs around with Snape, and no one else."

"She's really nice!"

"Whatever Remus." Storm said, and went back to eating her toast.


End file.
